


Prick

by vix_spes



Category: Basic Instinct (Movies), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom, Mænd & høns | Men & Chicken (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, BabyBullFest, Hannibal Extended Universe, M/M, Sassy, Tattoos, basic chickens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 01:32:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18728983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: Adam has had plenty of strange clients over the years, but this one intrigues him.





	Prick

**Author's Note:**

> This is based upon Camille's art [tattoo AU Basic Chickens](https://twitter.com/CamilleCailloux/status/1104478751725899776) ... thank you for letting me write it!

Adam couldn’t help but groan when he arrived at the studio that morning and found an appointment in his calendar for a client that he didn’t remember doing a consultation for. Not every client had a consult – especially if the piece that they were having was a piece of flash that the artist had advertised, or the person being inked had made an impulse decision about it – but a big piece like this? No way would it be done without a consult. That could only mean one thing; the guy who was scheduled – one Elias Thanatos – had had a consultation with one – or more – of the other artists at the studio and had been so awful that they had all refused to work with him. Yet, rather than lose out on a whole day’s fees, they had palmed him off on Adam, who had been out at a convention all week.

Ugh, at least the concept that this guy wanted was vaguely interesting. Unlike some of the requests he was sometimes asked to do. Obviously, like any studio worth their salt, they wouldn’t do tattoos on clients who were clearly under the influence of something, whether it be drugs or alcohol, but unfortunately, they weren’t allowed to refuse to tattoo clients due to either stupidity or a lack of taste. Adam had tattooed plenty of people who wanted to have the ugliest or stupidest designs done and he had no choice but to do them. So, he amused himself by mocking them in the subtlest way that he could and seeing who reacted to his needling.

For the most part, Adam liked working at Basic Instinct studios. The owner – one Catherine Tramell – was a predatory bitch but she ran a tight ship, when she wasn’t fucking one of her multitude of lovers, that was. The studio space itself was all sleek and modern, lots of glass and steel and not looking out of place amongst the shiny buildings of London’s financial district, worlds away from the grotty backstreet dives where Adam had had his first inkings done.

There were ostensibly five of them who worked at the studio but, nine times out of ten, Tramell was off at some convention which left four of them in the work space. They all specialised in different styles; Denise specialised in watercolours, Roy Washburn did traditional work – as did Adam – and then Michael Glass, Denise’s ex-husband, did more Japanese inspired art. When she did work, Catherine specialised in geometric designs.

Not knowing what this guy – Elias – wanted, Adam settled down his sketchbook and started trying to parse out some ideas. The only information that he had was that the guy wanted a bull on his back. That was it. Nothing about style, size, placement. Whether he wanted it colour or black and white. As he worked, the other artists came into the shop, as did Michelle, their receptionist. He could feel their eyes on him as they set up their workstations, waiting for him to explode and demand answers as to why they foisted this client upon him, but Adam refused to give them the satisfaction. He simply kept his head down and carried on sketching.

Gradually, the studios started to fill up with the first clients. How busy the studios were varied; sometimes all of them could be busy, other times it would just be a couple of them. Today, all of them were busy. Roy had a few smaller pieces in scattered throughout the day, Denise had some smaller pieces as well as a regular client in to have a piece finished off while Michael had someone in for a whole day. Adam only had Elias booked in – provisionally for four hours, although it was possible that they wouldn’t use the whole time. When he had a handful of designs ready to either go or modify depending on what Elias wanted and forty-five minutes to kill, Adam decided to head for the closest Starbucks for as much caffeine and sugar as he could load his system with.

Thirty minutes later, he entered the studios draining away the last dregs of sugary caffeine behind the most incongruous man. Obviously, they tattooed all sorts of people but, for the most part, the clients that they saw at Basic Instinct tended to be all much of a muchness; either smartly dressed City types or hipsters. This man, with his dishevelled curls, crumpled slacks and, was that a cardigan, definitely didn’t fit their usual aesthetic. Adam could hear Michelle going over her usual spiel – checking that the client hadn’t taken drugs or alcohol, that they had eaten something, that they knew that the studios only accepted cash before asking him to sign the consent form. And then he heard the man’s response; that of course he was aware of all that, he was able to read the information on the website and that he didn’t understand why she was asking such silly questions.

This was Elias, his client. It just had to be.

It was pretty obvious as to why Adam had been lumped with him and why none of the other artists didn’t want to deal with him. Coming up behind him, Adam caught Michelle’s eyes and signalled that he would take over from here. The mix of relief on her face was unmistakeable and Adam knew that he wouldn’t have to do a Starbucks run for at least the next month.

“You must be Elias.”

The man turned around, “why would you say that? Why must I be Elias?”

Oh. One of those types. Adam thought on his feet. “Because all of the other artists have their clients and I’m expecting someone? I’m Adam Towers, I’ll be doing your tattoo today.”

“Elias Thanatos. You are not the person that I met with to discuss my tattoo. Either of them.”

“Oh, no. I was away at a tattoo convention last week and my colleagues felt that I would be better suited to do what you wanted. I’ve got a few designs ready so, as soon as you fill out the form, we’ll get started.”

As Elias filled out the form, an intense look of concentration on his face, Adam mentally considered the designs that he had come up with, trying to determine which one would suit him best. He automatically discounted two of them and knew which one he hoped the man chose. The second that Michelle had the paperwork in her hand and gave the nod that it was all okay, Adam led Elias back to his station and spread out the designs that he had come up with. Before he had the chance to say anything, Elias virtually exploded.

“You like Darwin?”

“Huh?” The outburst was so unexpected that Adam wasn’t able to be as eloquent – or as snarky – as usual.

Elias gestured towards the ape and the clock that made up part of Adam’s sleeve and had been revealed when he pushed his sleeves up to his elbows.

“Your tattoos. Why would you have something influenced by Darwin tattooed on yourself? The man was a moron. It was nothing more than pure luck with the species thing.”

“Look,” Adam’s tone was icy, but he kept it low so that he didn’t attract the attention of the others. Well, any more attention than Elias had already garnered. If he didn’t stop this now, he had the feeling that Elias could go on for a while. “You may not like my tattoos or agree with them, but they aren’t what you should be focused on. The only thing you should be thinking about is if you like any of these designs enough to have them tattooed on your body today. Understand?”

Elias opened and closed his mouth a few times in surprise before he nodded and drew the sheets of paper towards him. There was a bull in the American traditional style, a neo-traditional design, a proper old-school one (that Adam secretly hated) and the one he hoped Elias would choose, a more mythical design with the bull tossing its head and emerging from the mists. At least the guy was taking the decision-making process seriously. Adam had seen far too many people make a quick decision and he had known that, at some point not too long after they had been inked, they would regret it.

After long minutes, Elias selected the one that Adam had been hoping for; the mythical bull. “Okay, great. Now, how big do you want it? All I’ve been told is that you want it on your back. In my professional opinion, if you want it of course, would be for it to be a whole back piece. The way that I designed it, it will follow the contours of your back. But, as I said, it’s your decision.”

Again, Elias considered it seriously before conceding that Adam was the artist and that he would take his advice. All of it was said in such a condescending tone that Adam had to concentrate on his breathing so that he didn’t say something overly sarcastic. He definitely couldn’t look at any of his colleagues. Instead, he told Elias to lose his cardigan – he still wasn’t over that – and shirt while he busied himself with preparing the stencil. When he came back, he stopped and stared in horror.

Elias was hairy.

Really hairy.

Were this a social situation and Elias was stripping to get into Adam’s bed – something which Adam was certain would never happen – then Adam would have no objections to how hirsute Elias was. In fact, he’d be all over it. As a client, however? This filled Adam with dread. He hoped that the mans back wasn’t as bad as his chest, because otherwise they’d be spending half his appointment shaving.

“Please tell me that your back isn’t as hairy as your chest…”

Elias puffed up like a peacock. “What has that got to do with anything?”

“Because if it is, I hope you have plenty of cash with you as you’re going to be here for a long time.”

Elias blustered but, when he turned around, Adam was relieved to see that it was no worse than most guys that he tattooed. He zipped through the obligatory shaving and then laid out the stencil, telling Elias to go and check in the mirror if he was happy with placement and size. Elias did as he was told and after admiring his reflection in the mirror over his shoulder, pronounced that he was happy with it.

“Alright then. Jump on the table and let’s get started.”

~*~

They were maybe two hours in, and Adam had finished a large portion of the linework when he couldn’t help but notice that the man’s hips and lower half were constantly shifting. The movements were minute, but they were enough that it could prevent Adam’s work from being as clean as he prided it on being; there was always the chance of veins and capillaries blowing out and blurring lines, but he wouldn’t have there being any question of his talent. The guy could just need to go to the loo and had forgotten what Adam had said at the start of the session, so Adam decided to test the waters.

“We’re about half-way through. Why don’t we just have a five-minute break and you can grab something to eat or drink, stretch your legs.”

Elias grunted his agreement and so Adam laid aside his gun, pushing his chair back so that Elias could stand up. As he did so, Adam came face to face with the real issue. Well, face to crotch if he was being honest. Elias was sporting the biggest erection that Adam had seen. There was no way of avoiding it; Elias’ pants were tented visibly, and Adam had to force his gaze away, clearing his throat only a little awkwardly.

“Umm, there’s a bathroom downstairs, if you need to use it.”

“Why would you tell me that? I am an adult and more than capable of asking for the facilities if I need to use them.”

Adam just gave a noncommittal shrug rather than saying anything. What was with this guy? Was he just going to ignore the fact that he had a huge erection? If he’d seen the guy in a club with that monster in his trousers, then Adam would have happily overlooked the horrid fashion sense and the attitude to take the man for a ride. The temptation to offer to help Elias deal with it was real but Adam restrained himself; he was a professional. It looked like a glorious cock though. It wasn’t the first time that Adam had had a client who was aroused by pain; indeed, he had a regular client who, without fail, got off every single time she was inked. It wasn’t Adam’s thing, but he could see how it could be for other people. What he didn’t understand was why Elias wasn’t doing anything about it. Was he ashamed? Whatever it was, that was a whole can of worms that Adam had no intention of going anywhere near and if Elias was going to ignore it, then so would Adam. Well, ignore it as much as he could.

“Okay, if you want to resume your position on the bed. I’m about to start on your lower back now, so if you can keep your lower half as still as possible, that would be great.”

“Of course, I can do that. Why wouldn’t I?”

To give Elias his due, he did his best but apparently it simply wasn’t possible for him to stay completely still. Adam was both simultaneously concerned and impressed by how long this guy had had a hard-on. Like, was he seriously into pain kink or did he just have amazing self-control? Maybe he was into edging or something like that. It didn’t make for the ideal circumstances but at least Adam didn’t blow out too many capillaries while he worked.

And then it was time for the filling in.

If anything, this was worse than the linework. Elias’ hips certainly moved more. To be perfectly honest, it depended on the client which they found worse. Some found linework to be more painful and intense, others found the filling in harder to deal with. For Adam – as seemed apparent with Elias – it was the latter. Probably something to do with the fact that there were more needles involved. Luckily for Elias, there wasn’t too much filling in required for the design that he had picked and, what there was, was on the fleshier parts of his back.

As the design unfolded, Adam couldn’t help but be pleased. It had been a while since he had done a design like this and he was really liking the way that it was turning out. The design that Elias had chosen had ended up giving off the ‘bull emerging from the mists of time’ vibe and that was apparently an aesthetic that Adam could get behind. It definitely suited Elias, no doubt about it. Now that he was approaching the end, Adam was infinitely grateful that Elias hadn’t chosen one of the other designs he had done; they wouldn’t have suited him as much as this one did.

Far too soon for Adam’s liking, he was done. Elias was a ridiculously easy guy to tattoo – if you ignored the hard-on and constant, minute rocking of his hips, as though he was trying to get some friction to his cock. Once he was satisfied that he wasn’t going to use the tattoo gun again, that he had actually finished, Adam set it aside and proceeded to wipe away the excess ink and the inevitable bits of blood.

“Okay, we’re done. If you want to have a look in the mirror.”

Elias got up still sporting his impressive erection and Adam busied himself with the mirror so that he didn’t just stare at the guys crotch like a fucking weirdo. Or someone desperate for cock. And then he looked at Elias’ face, trying to decipher his expression.

“Are you happy with it? Is it what you wanted?” They were the questions that Adam hated because what happened if the client said no? Obviously, tattoo removal existed but it was neither easy nor cheap.

It definitely didn’t help that Elias was silent for long moments as he pondered Adam’s questions. Finally, when Adam was ready to shake him in frustration, he responded.

“Yes, it is precisely what I was hoping for.” There was a slight pause and then, “your work is very good. I still do not like your tattoos, but you are a very good tattoo artist. Of course, the bull was my idea and it was an excellent idea.”

Adam managed to not roll his eyes, but it was a near miss. He definitely didn’t say that while the idea had been Elias’, the art was Adam’s. “Would you let me take a couple of photos? Mostly for my portfolio, but the studio might like to put it on social media as well if you give permission.”

Elias preened at that.

Adam had to press his lips together so that he didn’t laugh. Yes, there was no doubt that Elias had a way of riling people up easily and his arrogance rivalled Adam’s, which was saying something. Yet, there was something that Adam quite liked about him. And not just the appeal of his cock.

He took a couple of close-up shots of Elias’ back, making sure that the whole design was in the picture and that nothing was blurred. And then, just for Adam – and doing something that he would never normally do, because it was wasn’t exactly professional – he took one more shot. It wasn’t a close-up, but then it didn’t need to be. Adam took one full-length photo, making sure that not only did he get the whole of Elias’ new back piece but also the reflection of that impressive cock in the mirror.

With his illicit deed done, Adam spread a thin layer of petroleum ointment over the entirety of Elias’ back before covering it in clingfilm and taping it up.

“Okay, so aftercare is probably the most important thing. You can’t be too complacent. You need to keep it wrapped for the next couple of days. Leave this one on until tomorrow then take it off. Wash it gently with warm water and an unscented soap. Pat it dry and then cover the whole thing with a thin layer of nappy rash cream. You need to repeat the process two to three times a day for a couple of weeks. You don’t need to wrap it after the next couple of days. Whatever you do, don’t scratch or itch it. Don’t swim until it’s healed. Make sense?”

Elias nodded as Adam handed over the slip of paper that detailed all of the aftercare do’s and don’t’s. “If you’re not sure about anything, feel free to come back in. Once it’s all healed up and you think it’s in need of any touch-up’s, they’re free as long as you’re within six months of your first appointment. After that, it’s treated as a brand-new tattoo and you pay accordingly. Other than that, just enjoy your new art.”

“Yes, I will. Thank you, Adam.”

Adam smiled as he watched Elias walk out of the shop and down the street, moving somewhat stiffly although whether that was due to fact that he’d just spent the best part of four hours having needles stabbed into his back over and over again or the impressive hard-on that he was once again sporting, Adam wasn’t sure.

One thing that Adam did know, was that he hoped Elias came back for some touch ups.


End file.
